Release
Date: May 31, 2016
Must
Read ELUDE prior to Empire
SYNOPSIS
I have lost everything.
My purpose.
My love.
My soul.
Death knocks on my door, I want to answer, but every time I reach for the handle--the promise I made her, brings me back.
So I breathe.
I live.
I hate.
And I allow the anger to boil beneath the surface of a perfectly indifferent facade.
I am broken, I dont want to be fixed.
One last trip to New York, one last chance to redeem a lost part of the mafia family. The Empire is crumbling and it's my job to fix it, my job to mend the pieces that were scattered over thirty years ago.
The only issue is, the only way to fix, is to do something I swore I'd never do again.
An arranged marriage.
Only this time.
I won't fall.
Or so help me God, I'll kill her myself.
My name is Sergio Abandanoto, you think you know my pain, my suffering, my anger, my hate--you have no idea.
I am the mafia.
I am the darkness.
Blood in. No out.
My purpose.
My love.
My soul.
Death knocks on my door, I want to answer, but every time I reach for the handle--the promise I made her, brings me back.
So I breathe.
I live.
I hate.
And I allow the anger to boil beneath the surface of a perfectly indifferent facade.
I am broken, I dont want to be fixed.
One last trip to New York, one last chance to redeem a lost part of the mafia family. The Empire is crumbling and it's my job to fix it, my job to mend the pieces that were scattered over thirty years ago.
The only issue is, the only way to fix, is to do something I swore I'd never do again.
An arranged marriage.
Only this time.
I won't fall.
Or so help me God, I'll kill her myself.
My name is Sergio Abandanoto, you think you know my pain, my suffering, my anger, my hate--you have no idea.
I am the mafia.
I am the darkness.
Blood in. No out.
BUY LINKS
AMAZON US / AMAZON UK AMAZON AU / AMAZON CA
B&N / iBOOKS / KOBO
EXCERPT
Sergio looked ready to strangle me. “No. I don’t believe I asked for an annoying little sister, but if that’s what you’re offering, please don’t let me stop you. Just know, I won’t hesitate to put you over my knee if you get out of hand.”
The minute the words left his mouth. I froze.
He froze.
The taxi driver stared little laser like holes into the rearview
mirror.
And Sergio leaned toward me.
I swallowed as tension swirled around us.
He gripped me by the chin and turned my head to the side, his
lips brushing my ear. “It’s like you have a death wish.”
“You wouldn’t do it.”
He pulled back as both of his eyebrows shot up, and then he
looked down, like he had spotted something.
I followed the direction of his gaze and let out a little gasp
as a gun dug into my stomach.
“It’s been directed at you for the last four minutes,” Sergio said
through a practiced smile. “I meant what I said. Listen well. I keep my word.
Kiss me, and blood will be spilled.”
“Y-you’re a crazy person!” I hissed, shoving at his chest. “And
I wasn’t going to kiss you!”
“Sure you weren’t.” He put the gun away. “Good talk though,
right? Oh look, the movie theater.”
To say that I scrambled out of the car like a kid running away
from her kidnapper would be a gross understatement, but the minute my feet hit
the pavement, I paused.
My body told me to run.
The guy had pulled a gun.
On me.
I didn’t even watch violent movies.
Get the beginning of Sergio's story in Elude
Twenty-Four hours before we were to be married -I offered to shoot her.
Ten hours before our wedding -
I made a mockery of her dying wish.
Five hours before we were going to say our vows-
Five hours before we were going to say our vows-
I promised I'd never love her.
One hour before I said I do-
One hour before I said I do-
I vowed I'd never shed a tear over her death.
But the minute we were pronounced man and wife-
But the minute we were pronounced man and wife-
I knew.
I'd only use my gun to protect her.
I'd give my life for hers.
I'd cry.
And I would, most definitely, lose myself, to a dying girl - a girl who by all accounts should have never been mine in the first place.
I always believed the mafia would be my end game - poisoning my heart, while it claimed my soul. I could have never imagined. It would be my redemption.
Or the beginning of something beautiful.
The beginning of her.
The end of us.
She loves to hear from readers! You can connect with her on Facebook www.facebook.com/rachelvandyken or join her fan group Rachel's New Rockin Readers. Her website is www.rachelvandykenauthor.com.
I'd only use my gun to protect her.
I'd give my life for hers.
I'd cry.
And I would, most definitely, lose myself, to a dying girl - a girl who by all accounts should have never been mine in the first place.
I always believed the mafia would be my end game - poisoning my heart, while it claimed my soul. I could have never imagined. It would be my redemption.
Or the beginning of something beautiful.
The beginning of her.
The end of us.
AMAZON / iBOOKS / NOOK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rachel Van Dyken is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today Bestselling author of regency and contemporary romances. When she's not writing you can find her drinking coffee at Starbucks and plotting her next book while watching The Bachelor.
She keeps her home in Idaho with her Husband, adorable son, and two snoring boxers!
She loves to hear from readers! You can connect with her on Facebook www.facebook.com/rachelvandyken or join her fan group Rachel's New Rockin Readers. Her website is www.rachelvandykenauthor.com.
AUTHOR LINKS
